A Corinthos Christmas Carol
by MzMocha
Summary: Sexis! Just remember...Christmas is a time for miracles and magic…of all kinds…Sonny and Alexis. [complete]


_Just remember...Christmas is a time for miracles and magic…of all kinds…_ **A Corinthos Christmas Carol**

The snow swirled down, flurries of white flakes dancing out of the darkness to flirt against the windowpane and then to pirouette and curtsy and whirl away into the darkness again.

It was Christmas Eve, and Sonny was alone. He held a drink in his hand, but had barely touched it.

He heard laughter. 

Sonny turned away from the window and looked at the door. There it was again. Voices like silvery bells against the silence of his empty penthouse.

He crossed the room swiftly, pausing for a second at the bar to set his glass down and jerked the door open. 

Johnny, on guard tonight, turned, surprised at the sudden action.

Alexis and her newly discovered younger sister, Kristina were standing in the hall waiting for the elevator. Alexis was as he rarely saw her. An elegant deep green velvet gown sheathed her form in a verdant fall of soft silk from her throat to her ankles. Her hair was pinned up with wisps falling over her ears where emerald earrings sparkled while a matching bracelet of emerald and diamonds flashed on one wrist. He smiled, noticing the gardenia tucked behind one ear.  Kristina was as richly gowned as her sister in a deep midnight blue gown, diamonds at her ears and throat.

Alexis noticed his gaze and shrugged self-consciously. "Stefan insisted on giving us our presents early. We're just on our way for a family dinner at Wyndemere right now." 

"I've got a present for you too, but you're going to have to wait." Kristina said, walking up to him.

"A present for me?" Sonny asked, lifted a dark eyebrow.

"Yes." Kristina answered. "I understand that it's thanks to you, that Alexis has such a fantastic penthouse apartment. I love it. And I love the idea of living here. The energies that flow through here are so…so intense. All that's left to me is to adjust the furniture to conform to the building's aura…"

Sonny glanced at Alexis; she looked back at him for a moment, only a slightly embarrassed flush crossed her face. "I'll explain later." She said.

Sonny nodded. _Can't wait to hear this one, Alexis. _ A devilish grin chased across his face. 

Alexis saw it and sighed. She was never going to hear the end of this one, she knew it. There wasn't a paper bag big enough to help her right now.

 Kristina was winding up her explanation. "Since I understand that you're Alexis' landlord, I owe you thanks. And at Christmas time, that translates into a present. But you'll have to wait." she peered around him into his apartment. "You don't have a single Christmas decoration up." She said, surprised.

"It's too late anyway." Sonny answered with a shrug. He wasn't much in the mood for Christmas anyway. Christmas was about family. And he didn't have one anymore.

"It's never too late for Christmas." Kristina declared. 

He didn't have an answer that wouldn't sound rude. Thankfully the elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.

"Kristina." Alexis said firmly. She still had to get used to her sister's natural inclination to say exactly what she thought. Kristina made a face, but thankfully, walked to the elevator. "Now hold the elevator for a moment and I'll be right there." She ignored Kristina's eyes, bright and inquisitive and boring a hole into her back as she crossed over to Sonny. Johnny stepped away discretely, to give them some semblance of privacy. 

Alexis studied him, tilting her head in that familiar way that he had come to know so well. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He knew what she was doing, but Sonny didn't drop his eyes from hers. To do that would be to admit weakness. And that was something that he never did. _Never._

"You look beautiful, Alexis." He said, changing the subject. She did. She looked absolutely incredible. More beautiful, if it were possible than she had that night they'd spent in Puerto Rico, laughing and dancing in the moonlight, under the stars. 

The soft and knowing smile she gave him then let Sonny know that Alexis saw through his attempt to move the conversation away from himself, but as always, Alexis never pushed. If or when he was ready to talk about it, she'd be there ready to listen. His best friend. They stood there sharing the moment of quiet acceptance that they had both become so used to.

"You're sure?" Alexis asked him. 

"I'm sure." Sonny said. "You and your sister are all decked out for a pretty festive evening. It's Christmas Eve. Don't waste your time worrying over me."

"Worrying over you is not a waste of time, Sonny." Alexis told him, her dark eyes still looking deep into his.  She ignored the butterflies that had begun their now familiar dance inside her every time his deep, dark gaze came to rest on hers. 

"Go knock 'em dead, Councilor." Sonny made a fist and gently raised it to touch gentle knuckles to her chin. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Sonny." Alexis said, giving up at last. Somehow, even though she didn't know exactly why, she sensed that his latest thoughts had been unhappy ones. Just what, she didn't know, but her heart ached for him, even so. 

"Sonny…." his name slipped out on a sigh. "I'll see you maybe, when I get back? Kristina insists that we be home for Christmas. Some tradition of hers."

"Not that I'm not eavesdropping or anything." Kristina called out. "But I did hear my name… and yes…Christmas should be entered into among your own things. Around the things and auras of what you treasure most."

For someone not eavesdropping or anything, she was joining the conversation very well. Alexis chose to ignore her. For now. "Well," Alexis said, determinedly bright, "Right now, what I treasure most is not seeing Stefan scowling at us for being abominably late for his well planned family dinner." She smiled apologetically at Sonny. "We'd better get going if we're going to make it to the launch. I only hope that we don't get snowed in over there. I really do want to get back tonight. Auras of my favorite things not withstanding." Her eyes said that he just might be among those.

Sonny knew it was to check on him. "Well, if you're going to get back in time, you'd better get going." Sonny was strengthened by the smile she gave him then.  He gestured with a jerk of his head. "See you later."

            "See you later." Alexis smiled at him once last time, then walked to the elevator. She turned to wave at him as the doors slid shut. "Not a single word." She said to Kristina without turning her head. "What did you mean by a present for Sonny anyway? Sonny doesn't do presents. As far as I know, Sonny doesn't do Christmas."

            "I thought you didn't want me to say a single word. How can I answer your question, then?"

            Alexis slid her glance around to Kristina, who grinned back at her. Infuriatingly. Baby sisters. They knew, or thought they knew, entirely too much.    

            Her next words confirmed it. "Everybody does Christmas, Alexis. Everybody." She said no more on the rest of the way down. 

***

Sonny kept the smile on his face until the elevator doors closed. It faded away to nothing as he nodded to Johnny absently and retreated back into his own apartment. He headed straight to the bar.

            Christmas Eve and here he was, alone again. Mike had betrayed him...once again. Unbelievable.  He had fathered and then abandoned another child. And Carly…Carly had known and encouraged Mike to try and hide the truth from him. The knife was already in his heart with their betrayals, the lies just twisted it deeper. And the pain...he should be used to the pain...but he wasn't. He was never used to the pain. Each time it was like a fresh knife wound, ripping out his heart once again. 

This time, the pain was worse than ever before because he'd really tried this time...he'd tried to forgive them. The both of them had stood before him, looked him straight in the eye. And lied. They'd never know, though, what pain they had inflicted on him. He hid it well, but the scars went too deep and worse of all, they were never allowed to heal. In the end, it was always the same. He in his penthouse. Alone. Sonny took a long drink at his brandy. He refilled his glass and went to the window again.  He downed this second one while he stared out at the dark and building snowstorm.

The alcohol didn't bring him blessed numbness. In its place, Sonny felt anger. He felt a sudden urge to smash the glass against the nearest wall, but decided in a sudden flash of clarity, against it. He'd done that so many times before and what did it get him? He was still alone. Always alone. Every thing and every one he touched suffered because of him. The emptiness in him ached.   
            The thought crept unbidden into his mind. _Maybe it would have been better if he had never been born._ _Maybe then, the pain would stop…maybe the pain would have never been._

Even as the shadowy thoughts threatened to come from that dark place in him that always waited for his walls to come tumbling down, to bait him with their painful memories thought went through his mind, something was happening before his eyes that sent them scurrying back. The snowstorm whirling in its fluttering dance, seemed to gather itself and then begin to pass through the double sealed window panes. 

Sonny stepped back, unbelieving, not wanting to believe his eyes. He hadn't had that much to drink…

Before his eyes, the flakes poured through the window. He backed away slowly as the snowflakes began to gather themselves into a whirling column of glowing light. 

Sonny threw the glass down. He had definitely had too much too drink. But how was it that he felt perfectly sober? What small amount of numbness the liquor had given him was gone. 

Now there was a figure standing within the dancing motes of silvery light. The core was so bright that Sonny couldn't make out much more than an outline. But there was something…someone there. A sense of cool feminine emotions enveloped him. It felt almost maternal...but Sonny knew how fleeting that was. He tried to thrust it away. He didn't want it…it brought back too many painful memories. 

"No, Michael…" What was that? A voice, sweet and soft sounded in his head.  "Every life is precious. And yours as precious as any." 

 Okay, fine. Now he was hearing voices. "_Well fine then_," he raged back at the voice, "_What has my life done except to bring pain to everyone who has known me?"_

In answer, the column of light burst over him in a dazzle of starry light…

***

            He couldn't see. There was nothing but him and the lights. And the voice.  The voice he couldn't escape from._ There was pain in your life, true. But there were times of happiness too. Have you simply forgotten, or have you chosen not to remember that… remember now…before the present, there was the past…_

Then Sonny was seeing the two people who sat alone in a small shabby apartment. The once-forgotten smell of his mother's cooking filled him; the achingly familiar scent bringing back a flood of memories. 

It was Christmas past...one year alone with his mother, just Adella and him...a Christmas after Mike and before Deke, when all they had was each other. Paper chains on the tree and a single string of cheap lights. They were so poor that the pot of rice and beans simmering on the stove would be for dinner for the next two, three, maybe four nights. But the two of them had been so happy...

Sonny watched as the little dark haired boy gave an awkwardly wrapped package to the woman sitting tiredly in the living room chair. "For you, mama." 

"For me, _hijo?_" 

Sonny's eyes went to the work-worn hands of his mother, but then were drawn to her eyes. They filled with tears as she carefully unwrapped the present.

"Don't cry, _mami."  _

Sonny remembered the innocence of the little boy who had brought home the woven potholders, bright with her especial favorite colours and made so carefully at the community center for his mother, and the joy and love that had filled the eyes so like his own as she unwrapped the precious gift...

"These tears are tears of happiness, Michael. I'm so very, very happy right now." She pulled him into her arms, kissed him on the cheek and held him tightly…

_            Did you forget that Christmas morning? The voice questioned him.__ Did you forget the joy you gave?_

_It didn't last.  Sonny thought. __It never lasts._

_That joy lasted a lifetime.  Came the answer. __For now, remember…_

 A sensation poured over him, like sunshine after a rain…warm and encompassing. Sonny had forgotten. The joy of that night filled him now and a smile came, unbidden to his lips. 

_Yes, you do remember...keep that joy with you always.__ Remember now.... and then there was a touch on his face and for a moment, he was that little boy.  His heart filled him with a long forgotten warmth and love…_

It wasn't that easy…what about now? His life had changed so much from that innocent little boy. His innocence had been ripped from him, and he'd never healed from it. 

_ Leave that pain now, Michael. Choose joy. _ The voice was in his head again as the lights swirled before his eyes once more and the tableau before him faded like an old snapshot.

 _I can't!_ He shouted...but it was only in his mind.  _The past is nothing but the past. I can't live in the past...just in the here and now._ The pain was back in his heart as he thought of all the pain that had come to be because of him.

_"Those were choices that you made, true. But you were the cause of more than pain. The past cannot be undone, and the present is what it is...but there are gifts that sometimes aren't seen._

 What he saw now, was the brownstone. Bobbie's brownstone…He was outside the window, looking into the kitchen. Bobbie and Carly. _Damn it, Carly._ His heart ached for what could have been. The presence of the being held him close, enveloping him in a peace that allowed him to look at his now ex wife with something other than distrust. 

"Can you let him go?" Bobbie was asking her daughter.

"I don't have a choice." Carly answered. She got up from the kitchen chair and went to stare out the window. She looked right through him. "I have to take responsibility for what I've done." 

"Carly, are you sure?" Bobbie asked. "Sonny has been no saint."

"No, he isn't; he never claimed to be. But he was always as truthful as he could be with me. I'm the one who destroyed my marriage. I went behind Sonny's back. Knowing how he is, who he is and what he is, and still, I chose to betray him. Instead of doing what was best for us, I made a conscious decision to do what was best for me. And even if one day he manages to forgive me, and that will probably be for Michael's sake, he'll never trust me again. He'll never let me close to him the way we were again. It's my fault. I have to accept that and…and move on."

"Are you saying you don't love him anymore? I can't believe that."

"No. There's a part of me that's going to love Sonny forever. He's given me the greatest gift to me he could. A father for Michael. I'll always be grateful to him for that.  And I'll never be sorry for a single moment that I spent loving him. He taught me how to live and love with my whole heart." 

Carly turned to see her mother gazing thoughtfully at her. "What?"

"I think my little girl is finally growing up." 

The old Carly would have bristled at that remark. The new one went into her mother's arms willingly. The two women embraced. "I have Sonny to thank for that too, Mama." She whispered.

In spite of himself, Sonny felt the shell around his heart begin to melt away. _Goodbye Carly, _he thought. He found himself able to let the last of his love go – without regrets, without hate. Before he could examine this feeling further, they were whirled away, twin motes upon the storm…

The scene shifted, faded away as though it had never been.  A new one took its place. There was Alexis. He thought she was staring right at him, but her appearance was fluid, as though something were distorting his vision.  As she continued to stare right at him, she reached for the emerald earrings he'd seen her in earlier and clipped them to both ears. He realized that she was looking into a mirror. He seemed to be on the inside of it, looking out. Everything was rippled and slightly distorted.

Alexis looked into the mirror, eyes shadowed, and a pensive look crossed her face. Sonny knew instantly, that she was thinking about him, thinking about him alone in his penthouse just across the hall. There was more in her thoughts, but before he could dwell upon it, Kristina was there. She came up beside her sister. Alexis smiled down at her and the two of them hugged.

Kristina said something teasing; Sonny couldn't hear her. But she left the room laughing. Whatever it was, it had made Alexis laugh as well. She picked up her coat from where he had lain across the bed. Alexis gave a final look into the mirror. That same, almost sad look came back across her face. She hesitated, and then reached out to the mirror as though she wanted to touch it. It felt, to Sonny, as though she were trying to reach out to him.

_"Friendship…the greatest gift anyone can give…cherish those you have, Michael."_

"What is it?" Sonny asked. "I know that Alexis is my best friend, what is it that I'm supposed to do? Is she one more person who is going to suffer because she trusts me?"

Instead of an answer, the door to his penthouse opened...a mist began to blow through the open doorway, clouding over everything.   
_There's the past, and there's the present…and there's more…_

 They were back in his own penthouse. _Okay,_ Sonny answered. _You've shown me Christmas past, you've shown me Christmas present, now what…the future?_

No answer.

_ I get it. I've seen the movie. So what does Christmas future hold for me? _ Sonny demanded._ Is this where you show me how I pay for all my sins? I've seen this movie already. Too many times. So I'd just as rather skip this part, thank you._

Silence.

 The door to the penthouse swung openly slowly and a mist began to pour through the doorway. _ No dice then. _ Sonny braced himself to see his worse nightmares made real.

The mists rose up and thickened, blinding his sight.

When he could see again, Sonny was still in his apartment. But there was a Christmas tree in front of him. Eight feet tall if it was an inch.  And there he was, with an ornament in his hand, poised to hang it. But in his arms…_ oh God_…in his arms…

She was exquisite. Dark hair and darker eyes, and without a doubt, _his._ A sable-eyed angel with rosy cheeks that already reflected his own dimpled smile back at him, clad in lace and white velvet and looking up at him with such trust and adoration, so beautiful it takes his breath away. The flood of love that comes over him at the sight of her threatens to drown his senses in happiness and joy. 

"Mama!" the little girl turns her head and held out her arms...a familiar laugh comes from behind him. There was the smell of something cool and green…holly? Pine...no, not quite, but Christmassy all the same...Sonny turns to see...and the picture fades...Then he is back in his apartment. Alone once more.

Only now, he's lying on the couch. Sonny jerks himself upright. He glanced at his watch. It was forty-five minutes before midnight. He hadn't missed Christmas after all. He jumped off the couch and rushed to the door, not realizing what he was doing until the door was already open. What was he, some kind of nutcase now? Johnny looked at him, startled by the sudden opening of the door. 

"Everything all right, Mr. Corinthos?" He asked.  
"I'm fine. Is Alex---Ms. Davis at home?"

"They haven't returned yet." Johnny answered him carefully. "Would you like to leave a message for Ms. Davis? I'll be sure that she gets it as soon as she returns. 

Sonny shook his head. "That's okay. You wanna take the rest of the night off, Johnny?"

In answer to his bodyguard's puzzled look, Sonny tried not to laugh.  "It is Christmas, you know. Isn't there someone you want to be with?"

Before Johnny could answer, the elevator doors opened. Alexis and Kristina stepped out into the hallway, Kristina hauling a largish gift bag. She took one look at Johnny and Sonny standing in the hallway and shoved the bag into Johnny's hand. "This is just great. I could really use some help with this," she said, shoving the bag into Johnny's arms. "Besides, there's a little something for you under the tree." Before he could react, she was steering him across the hall and into the Davis' apartment. 

Kristina turned back towards Sonny. "I have a surprise present for Alexis. Sonny could you entertain her for a few minutes while I get it ready?" When neither of them moved, she stopped and put both hands on her hips. "I meant, in your apartment. Otherwise, she'll peek."

Alexis, already blushing, took refuge in lawyer-speak. "I do not peek. I never peek. I am a trusted attorney who never divulges or abuses client/lawyer or any other sort of privileges."

"You'll peek." Kristina cut her off; she shifted her gaze to Sonny. "_Please."_

"Sure." Sonny said. He took Alexis by the arm and steered her into his penthouse.

"Sonny, don't encourage her." she was saying, even while he walked her through the open door.

"I don't think your sister needs encouragement from anybody. I think she sees what she wants and goes after it. An admirable trait."

"An infuriating trait."

"Part of her charm." Sonny was smiling for real now. "She just doesn't want you to peek."

"I do not…" Alexis shut her lips on the rest of her protest. Infuriating. Whether she meant Kristina or Sonny was unclear. Sonny, however, was right in front on her. Smiling at her with those infuriatingly  -- _that word again – fascinatingly deep dimples. And that sparkle in his eyes. And his mouth…the thoughts she'd been having about that mouth.  In spite of herself, she found her own lips curving up in response to his.  "She is something else, isn't she?"_

"She certainly is." Sonny replied, still looking at her. He wasn't sure himself, if he were talking about Kristina or her big sister. No, he was definitely thinking of the big sister. Alexis was certainly something else. His gaze swept across her face, coming to rest on the gardenia still resting in her hair.  The faint scent that still clung to it brought back memories of Puerto Rico and the realization that he'd taken her for granted for far too long. Until that night in Puerto Rico, he hadn't realized just how much. 

He did cherish her, and he'd never really let her know that. It was more than past time to tell her so. Sonny opened his mouth to speak.

And then there was the jingle of bells. It came from the hallway. Sonny, with Alexis a step before him, went to the door. 

Johnny was standing outside Alexis' door, grinning foolishly. Kristina had gifted him with a large Santa hat that was perched rakishly on his head. Best of all, a cluster of tiny bells dangled at the pointed end of the cap that rang merrily with every step. Kristina stood in the doorway, smiling approvingly. 

"Nice look, Johnny." Sonny said dryly. Johnny only grinned in response.

"I think he looks fantastic." Kristina said.

Alexis wondered if Kristina was having visions of a certain something under her Christmas tree.

"If you're still all right about my taking off, Mr. Corinthos…."

"Sure, Johnny, take off. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, sir. And you Ms. Davis." He turned and tilted his head at Kristina. "And a special one for you...and thanks. You're right; somebody is gonna love this hat."

As the elevator doors closed, Johnny was still grinning.

"Well, I guess I'd better let you two ladies get back to your Christmas celebrations." Sonny said. He glanced at his watch. "After all, it's almost Christmas." He smiled at them. The moment for telling Alexis anything was lost. Maybe that was just as well. He didn't know what he was going to say anyway. What would Alexis think to see me at a loss for words?

"Hold it right there." 

It was very rare for anyone to speak to Sonny Corinthos like that, Alexis remarked to herself. Even more remarkable was to watch Sonny comply.

Kristina bent down and reached for something just inside the door. It was a largish box, wrapped in gilt stamped brown paper and tied with raffia. Lots of raffia.

"You really didn't want her to peek, did you?" Sonny said. Alexis was going to have some time getting that present unwrapped. "The purpose of a gift," Sonny pointed out. "Is to be able to open it."

"Is it?" Kristina said, coming forward to put the box in his hands. " I told you, Alexis peeks."

"I do not..."

Sonny looked at Alexis' little sister while Kristina merely smiled and continued.  As dissimilar as they were, he could see the resemblance between them. That same single-minded determination that Alexis often showed was there now, in Kristina's eyes. Sonny couldn't help but smile back. 

"She'll probably need some help opening it. A knife, for certain. You know," she was saying, "Alexis doesn't have a decent knife in the house, if she knew where one is, so you'll have to use one of yours...Alexis why don't you go oversee, to make sure he doesn't get hurt. Besides, a gift like this really does require two people if it's going to work right." Before either Sonny or Alexis could react, Kristina was retreating back into Alexis's penthouse. 

"I'm off to change out of these heels and get into something a little more comfortable. Don't worry Alexis, just give the secret sister knock, and I'll let you back in." With those last words, she smiled at them and shut the door. 

They both heard the lock turn.

Alexis exhaled noisily. Then sighed.

"She's your sister."

"Don't remind me." 

All right, he wouldn't. Instead he tried picking at the twists of raffia. Not a single strand would budge. "Let's see what it is she's so determined to have me help you open."

Alexis was still watching her door. "Do you think she's forgotten the fact that I have a key?"

"I think she chooses to disregard such a mundane issue such as your having a key."

Alexis's eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Ah" Sonny said. "You like my use of the word mundane? See, Councilor, your smarts are rubbing off on me." He tilted his head and smiled slowly at her. "Maybe I should keep you around me more often."

Struck dumb by the thought, Alexis couldn't do anything else except follow Sonny back into his apartment.

Sonny crossed the room and set the box down on the coffee table. Studying the wrappings, he could tell this was going to take some doing. Absently, Sonny unbuttoned his collar and then his shirtsleeves, rolling up the arms. He sat down on the couch, then looked up. Alexis had stopped moving a few feet away and was still standing there.

"Alexis?" she seemed to come out of some deep thought. Actually, all of her deep thoughts were concentrating on the unexpectedly enticing sight of Sonny with his throat exposed and forearms bared. His looking so…relaxed was making her anything but. "Alexis…if we're going to have this opened before Christmas, we'd better get moving on it."

She looked at the couch and then back at him. How was she supposed to sit next to him when he looked so damn good she couldn't stand it?

"Alexis?"

She seemed to make a decision. "Right. The present. Opened. Of course." She sat down next to him. Just as she thought, her senses came awake. She could smell the faint scent of cologne and brandy and her skin fairly tingled at his closeness. Where her leg touched his, it burned.

She forced her mind away from such thoughts and together they started on an attempt to unravel the box. Their fingers brushed against one another, and surprised Sonny with the sudden warmth that poured through him. It seemed like his entire body reacted to that innocent touch.  He covered his sudden feeling of awkwardness with a laugh. 

Alexis looked at him curiously. 

"Looks like a knife is the only answer." Sonny stood and left the room but came back quickly with a small paring knife. He sat back down next to Alexis. With one hand on the box, he began to cut at the raffia. The box shifted a little on the table and the knife slipped, almost causing Sonny to cut himself. Then Alexis' hand was over his own, steadying it.

Something electric filled the air. Two sets of eyes dropped down to where two hands rested, one atop the other. Two hearts pounded, sudden and rapid and out of rhythm. Two pairs of eyes came up to meet in one gaze. Dark and darker met and held. 

_Breathe. Just breathe_… two minds held the same thought.

            "I think we've done it." Alexis said, her voice slightly breathless. "But we've only just begun."

            Sonny was too busy being lost in Alexis' warm gaze. Her voice, if not the words poured over him in a gentle caress. It was a moment before his mind translated it into words. "What? Done what?"

            "Just begun unraveling the puzzle." Alexis flushed slightly as she realized she was staring into her client's eyes like a lovesick teenager. She pulled her gaze away from his, reluctantly and dropped them instead to the box. The box was safer. It didn't have thick sable lashes, or deep velvet brown eyes. It wouldn't speak to her in a voice that made her want to melt like warm butter… or a mouth that was…_Alexis, just concentrate on the box._

They both looked down. One end of the raffia curled away from the rest.

            "Oh." _ Oh. _ Sonny thought to himself. _Real smooth, Corinthos._

 By mutual silent agreement, they begin to work on the box. And finally worked it free of its bounds. 

Only to find a blizzard of tissue paper and another box inside. This one was covered all around with a rainbow of bows.

Laughing, they continue their joint attack. Raffia and gift-wrap and bows went flying and their laughter joined it. Alexis was reminded of the little wooden dolls she would get at Christmas times. They were simple shaped dolls, with one nestled inside the other. One after the other after the other. And she was always fascinated by the tiny ones at the heart of them.

"I made the mistake of telling Kristina about that when we were sharing childhood memories." Alexis finished up, still smiling widely. "Sorry you got involved."

"Don't apologize, Alexis." Sonny said. "I remember those too." He enjoyed the idea of sharing memories of a young Alexis with her. It made him realize how much he looked forward to learning even more about her. 

They ended up opening six boxes. Each of them wrapped and tied in a different way. Some Alexis figured out, some Sonny did, and once or twice they were forced to work out together. Each one brought laughter from the two of them, banishing their earlier awkwardness and returning them to a common bond. Sonny managed to undo the last one. Deep aubergine velvet crowned with a gilt bow. Unlike all the others, the top simply slipped off.

Sonny offered the box towards her. "Want to do the honors, Councilor?"

Alexis shook her head. He'd been the one to get the last, let him. Sonny quirked a smile at her and opened the box. The inside was lined with dark blue silk and a matching pouch, its top secured by a glimmering golden braid. And a gift tag.  Sonny read the inscription aloud.   
            _"Alexis. Remember, this takes two for it to work. And I think it's about time."_

He pulled the braided cord loose. The smell of something cool and Christmassy came up and enveloped them both. Sonny let the contents slide out into his palm. It was a smallish bundle. Green and many leafed and crowned with a cluster of white berries.

_Mistletoe._

The two of them stared at it, all thoughts of laughter suddenly gone. All thoughts of anything and everything, actually. Except for the fact that it was him, her and – mistletoe. 

Sonny looked down at the greenery in the palm of his hand. "Well, she was right about one thing...it definitely takes two people to make this work right." he murmured aloud.

He looked up to see Alexis staring at him. Her head tilted as she bit her lower lip and looked at him inquisitively. _ Cherish your friendships, Michael...From them can come your greatest joy...Choose joy…_

 The truth of that hit him all of a sudden with all the force of a freight train. Sonny took a deep breath. And then he smiled. 

"I wonder if this thing is fully functional."

"Functional?" Did Alexis' voice actually squeak just now?

"Functional. As in capable of performing." 

Slowly, Sonny moved and stood up in front of Alexis. With one hand, he reached down to her. Silently, he drew her to her feet. She didn't know it, but with her standing so close, his heart was pounding crazily in his chest. He felt like it was about to explode.  Sonny lifted the mistletoe over their heads, all the while looking deep into Alexis' eyes. Sonny reached out and gently caught her hand in his. Their fingers intertwined without thinking. Sonny lifted her hand, first to his lips to brush her hand softly against his lips, then lowered it to his chest, pressing her palm flat against his chest until he was sure she could feel the fierce pounding of his heart. 

Sonny let his gaze come back to meet hers. They were sparkling now, with a different light. A small smile was beginning to show itself at the corners of her mouth. She was definitely warming to the idea of her, him and mistletoe. Definitely.

He let his hands slide slowly down her arms, enjoying the feel of the soft velvet beneath his palms. He followed their curve up to Alexis shoulders, then let his fingers tease at edge of the fabric where just beyond their boundaries, her bare skin began. She couldn't know how hard it was to keep the tremble from his fingers.

"I know what the words mean." Alexis said quickly. Too quickly. _Aha,_ he smiled inwardly; it wasn't just him that was suddenly breathless.

"Really? Just what is the meaning of mistletoe, Councilor?"  Alexis opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Sonny had closed the tiny space between them. His fingers grazed the soft flesh above her collarbones, traced their way snow-flurry soft along her throat and then her chin, coming at last, to her lips. Warm and soft against his fingers, her breath quickened against them as he traced their soft contours with his fingertips.

Alexis shivered as his fingertips touched her lips; letting her feel the sense of strength and gentleness that was part and parcel of Michael Corinthos. With his touch, she couldn't think of her next words if her life had depended on it. And whatever it was she was going to say was forever wiped from her mind by the sudden sweet gentle pressure of his mouth upon hers.  His lips brushed against her softly, then her arms were coming up to hold him, and then his arms were pulling her close.

For something so unexpected, the kiss was almost too right. Their lips met and clung, the kiss taking the place of any words they might have said. More intoxicating than any wine, filled with more magic than Christmas Eve. 

Somewhere in the background, the clock struck midnight. It was Christmas morning. Sonny lifted his head slightly from Alexis'. He was finding that breathing was very much over-rated. There were much better things to do with his mouth. With her mouth. Their mouths, together.

Right now, his mouth smiled. A smile that brought out the full wattage of his dimples and lit his eyes with much more than Christmas cheer. That was fine. For now.

"Merry Christmas, Councilor."

The sound of his voice, low and husky, sent a slow shiver through her body. Alexis smiled at him, slow and sweet. Despite the sparkle he'd put in her eyes, Sonny could see the wheels turning in her head. "What is it, Lex?"

"I can't wait for New Year's." 


End file.
